The Jazz Foundation brought over 1000 musicians & their families back after Katrina, by rehousing, donating top shelf instruments and creating paying gigs for hundreds. They were there for hundreds affected by Superstorm Sandy, and rebuilt the homes of the musicians who lost everything in last year's devastating floods in Baton Rouge.

They have started connecting with dozens of jazz, blues, and roots musicians in Harvey's wake, they will help them rebuild as they always do, repairing homes, replacing belongings and treasured instruments and even replacing work.

Enrico Bergamini is a saxophone player, composer and arranger from Bergamo, Italy. After being exposed during his teenage years to bands and artists such as Weather Report, Brecker Brothers and Frank Zappa, Enrico has made it his first and foremost goal to compose and perform music as creative and exiting as theirs.

What do you get when you have two veteran musicians that have their unique individual styles, but who can also come together as they blend perfectly to create something out of the ordinary?David Benoit & Marc Antoine have a new collaboration. The album is titled, So Nice! If you like Bossa Nova-inspired creations, then this is for you.David Benoit has been in the game for 40 years, and he has not slowed down one bit! In addition to his solo work, Benoit has worked with artists as diverse as the Rippingtons, and Faith Hill to David Sanborn and CeCe Winans. Benoit wanted to become a jazz artist at an early age, after hearing the music from a Charlie Brown special. “I was already a fan of the comic strip,” he says, “but when I heard that jazz piano trio, that was the defining moment when I decided that I wanted to play like Vince Guaraldi.”

In case you forgot about that music from way back, here is Linus and Lucy from Benoit:It also appears in our Smooth Jazz Series. It is still one of my favorites. In addition to the 40+ albums he has recorded, Benoit has also diversified his talents. Benoit’s film scores include The Stars Fell on Henrietta (1995), produced by Clint Eastwood, and The Christmas Tree, produced by Sally Field, which was voted Best Score of 1996 by Film Score Monthly. He has served as conductor with a wide range of symphonies including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Asia America Symphony Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra.Marc Antoine was born in France, but he also lived in London and Tokyo, as well as the United States. He has also played with some diverse artists. They include Basia, Soul II Soul, George Benson and Sting.With experience like that, you know a collaboration would be So Nice! READ MORE...

Keyboardist-composer Vijay Iyer’s energized sequence of ECM releases has garnered copious international praise. Yet his fifth for the label since 2014 – Far From Over, featuring his dynamically commanding sextet – finds Iyer reaching a new peak, furthering an artistry that led The Guardian to call him “one of the world’s most inventive new-generation jazz pianists” and The New Yorker to describe him as “extravagantly gifted… brilliantly eclectic.”

Far From Over features this sextet of virtuoso improvisers – with horn players Graham Haynes, Steve Lehman and Mark Shim alongside rhythm partners Stephan Crump and Tyshawn Sorey – leveraging a wealth of jazz history even as it pushes boldly forward. The music ranges from the thrillingly explosive (“Down to the Wire,” “Good on the Ground”) to the cathartically elegiac (“For Amiri Baraka,” “Threnody”), with melodic hooks, entrancing atmosphere, rhythmic muscle and an elemental spirit all part of the allure. “This group has a lot of fire in it, but also a lot of earth, because the tones are so deep, the timbres and textures,” Iyer says. “There’s also air and water – the music moves.”

New CD for 2017!! Circuit Bent organ trio with Ben Monder on Guitar and Jordan Young on Drums. Moments of Prog and Metal!! All new compositions by Brian. Circuit Bending is a technique where electronic instruments are manipulated so that they misfire (!!) creating far out sonic landscapes.

From subtle to sexy to swinging, Chris Pasin and friends shine a brilliant light on the best yuletide favorites

Nothing gets music lovers in a celebrating mood like listening to their favorite carols, and this brand-new CD, Baby, It’s Cold Outside, delivers a whopping dose of holiday cheer. On 11 of the most-beloved sounds of the season, trumpeter Chris Pasin and friends show they have a real gift for making such familiar material their own, while maintaining the spirit and warmth that’s such a major part of the yuletide celebrations.Equally comfortable on both trumpet and ugelhorn, leader Chris Pasin has proved himself among the most versatile of musicians. Besides fronting his own bands, he’s been a mainstay of ensembles led by the likes of Buddy Rich, Toshiko Akiyoshi/Lew Tabackin, George Russell, and Brother Jack McDu . Pasin has also appeared with legendary gures including Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Mel Torme and Ray Charles, to name a few.For Baby, It’s Cold Outside, Pasin has assembled a stellar ensemble of some of the most in-demand musicians on the New York jazz scene. Among them: pianist Armen Donelian (Sonny Rollins, Chet Baker, Paquito D’Rivera); bassists Ira Coleman (Freddie Hubbard, Betty Carter, Herbie Hancock) and Rich Syracuse (Mose Allison, Bernard Purdy, Kurt Elling); drummer Je Siegel (Ron Carter, Jack DeJohnette, Sheila Jordan); singer Patricia Dalton Fennell (Dave Holland, Giacomo Gates, Pete Levin); and guitarist Peter Einhorn (Joe Lovano, Placido Domingo, Jim Hall).

Highlights from Baby, It’s Cold Outside include:

“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”: Here’s a subtle, sensitive and understated version of a classic that steers clear of the overly sentimental, right from Donelian’s heart-felt piano opener. “We Three Kings”: Uptempo and bursting with energy, the band brings great drive and brilliant feeling to this beloved carol, which features an excellent solo from leader Pasin. “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”: Check out the sexy and playful collaboration between Pasin and vocalist Patricia Dalton Fennell. The twosome demonstrate their wit and camaraderie as they work their seductive skills on the lyrics. “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”: A very welcome new take on a traditional tune turns it into a cooker; the great rhythmic drive makes it downright danceable. “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”: Pasin and Einhorn shine on solos in this unique treatment of a 1940s-vintage hit.

Pasin and friend’s fresh take on the greatest songs of the season celebrate the beloved classics in an original and vastly appealing style. Listeners will enjoy old favorites in a new way this holiday season, thanks to the great renditions performed by this talented and creative ensemble.

With the help of his eight piece ensemble, dB-ish, Grammy Award-winning trumpeter and multi-instrumentalist Darren Barrett proudly announces the August 22nd release of his highly-anticipated new album The Opener. Featuring special guest guitarists Kurt Rosenwinkel and Nir Felder, The Opener brilliantly weaves acoustic instruments with synthesis, samples and soundscapes into the fabrics of modern jazz. “Sometimes we play open, sometimes we play structured and then sometimes we play over vamps. What I really love is there is room for melodies, room for improvisation, room for the synthesis, room for samples and soundscapes,” says Barrett on his approach to his new project. dB-ish features several long time bandmates including Alexander Toth on bass, Anthony Toth on drums and Santiago Bosch on piano and keyboards. The album also includes respected saxophonists Clay Lyons and Erena Terakubo, percussionist Judith Barrett and dynamic keyboardist Chad Selph. Barrett is particularly honored to be joined by world-renowned guitarists Kurt Rosenwinkel on aptly-titled track “The Opener” and Nir Felder on composition “To Conversate”.“Kurt is simply brilliant. His abilities are endless. Nir Felder has a wondrous approach to playing music that was so perfect for this project.”

Multi-instrumentalist Darren Barrett has had an extraordinary career. He has performed and recorded with Elvin Jones, Jackie McLean, Herbie Hancock, Roy Hargrove Big Band, Common, Will.i.am, Myron Walden Momentum, D’Angelo and Antonio Hart. After winning the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition for Trumpet in 1997, Barrett went on to release his first album First One Up in 1999 followed by Deelings in 2001, The Attack of Wren: Wrenaissance Volume 1 in 2004, and A Very Barrett Christmas in 2011.He performed on the Grammy Award-winning Esperanza Spalding album, Radio Music Society in 2012 and in 2014 he released The Music of the Bee Gees (2014), with Energy in Motion and Live and Direct (2014), with dB Quintet. In 2015, Barrett released the reggae infused Trumpet Vibes and in 2016, he explored the work of the late Amy Winehouse on Trumpet Vibes: The Music of Amy Winehouse.He now leads dB Quintet, Energy In Motion, dB-ish, and dB Treyo and is a professor in the Ensemble Department at his alma mater, Berklee College of Music in Boston. The Opener is a departure from Barrett’s previous work as it explores his interest in electronic and experimental music more-so than any of his earlier projects. “I grew up with many different influences and always experimented in the electronic world so I am so happy to have finally realized a project utilizing all of these ingredients,” says Barrett. A prime example of this is the opening track, “The Opener”, which features Kurt Rosenwinkel and incorporates soundscapes, samples and drum machines synthesized with the acoustic instruments.Barrett considers this track to be “the heart of dB-ish”. Another standout is “Throughout” which turns the traditional jazz tune on its head with orchestrated electronics. The utilization of old synths like the Prophet 5 and Oberheim Xpander help to bring the track to life.With The Opener Darren Barrett brings a fresh approach to the genre-bending world of experimental jazz and ushers in a new era of his already expansive career.

We're very excited to introduce to you 'Setembro', the brilliantly conceived and executed album from three supremely gifted and creative musical minds in Portuguese pianist Mário Laginha, English saxophonist Julian Argüelles & Norwegian percussionist Helge Andreas Norbakken.

With propulsive grooves, complex but ever-lyrical melodies, and open-minded interaction ‘Setembro’ demonstrates the vitality and importance of what is great about contemporary jazz in Europe.